2013 best and worst for NYC subways and buses

The Straphangers Campaign released their 2013 best and worst list for the MTA.

The Straphangers Campaign cited the expansion of Select Bus Service as one of the best things to happen to the transit system in 2013.Credit: Daniel Barry/Getty Images

Among the best and worst things to happen to the city's buses and subways this year, according to the Straphangers Campaign, were a new MTA chief, a record number of deaths on the rails, and a decrease in a federal tax break for commuters. The bus system saw the greatest number of good things, with the expansion of Bus Time throughout Manhattan and Select Bus Service on various lines.

And of course, the lasting effects of the destruction wrecked by Superstorm Sandy is still ravaging the subway system, financially and logistically.

Delays increased by 29 percent during the first quarter of the year, largely due to track related issues. The R tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan will be closed for repairs through 2014, and the G tunnel is closed on many weekends. The South Ferry station, only just rebuilt in 2006, sustained massive damages, and seven downtown Manhattan subway stations require flood ”mitigation” measures.

But there is good news: While the city's straphangers had to grapple with a fare hike this past March, the 8.4 percent increase planned for 2015 is now expected to be cut by nearly half.

While the list focused on the city's buses and subways, the Straphangers Campaign acknowledged the Metro-North derailment that killed four people as "the most tragic transit event of 2013."